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Patrolling was not something Danube often did. She didn't usually have time for it. When her signet ring lit up with goings-on and trouble, that was when she would spring into action and come running. But just wandering around? She had better things to do with her time.

Usually.

Except today.

All of her work projects were at points that relied on other people to get back to her. All of her personal projects were at a standstill until she had a large order of uniforms for a marching band done, because the boxes were taking up all of her extra space while she waited for the measurements to come in. It had been suggested to her that she needed to invest in a workshop outside of her apartment, and she was really starting to see the merit in that. Maybe there was a maker-space she could rent space from somewhere in the city for a price that wouldn't be too exorbitant.

Anyway, she was getting distracted. The last thing she needed was to get lost in her thoughts and end up munched by a youma or star-seeded by some Negaverse agent. Speaking of, was that a Chaos signature she sensed? Where the hell was that coming from? That hadn't been there a second ago, had it?

She got to her feet where she sat on the bus stop bench and looked around. People looked at her, but nothing more than a passing glance due to what she was wearing. Which was fair, really. None of the looks lingered. And the signature wasn't close enough to be one of the people walking past her. Excusing herself into the flow of foot-traffic, Danube set about playing hot-cold with the enemy.

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Tincalconite was nonplussed to feel an Order signature when he powered up. Of course there would be someone right there. Maybe he could do some drive-by alleyway starseeding before whoever it was got wind of him. Some casual energy theft, the usual. He pulled his jacket on, using it to hide both his clothing and his giveaway long hair, combing his bangs forward with his fingers to try and hide the hole in his forehead that would also give him away. The goal wasn't to completely avoid detection, but to postpone it until he'd been useful enough to warrant turning around.

Borax would laugh at him, but he was feeling unusually gun-shy ever since having a senshi nearly choke him to death. The bruises around his throat had faded with Negaverse healing, but the deep-muscle soreness had not, and it hurt to swallow. His voice was still hoarse, even. Mainly when he tried to shout. It was a bit of a pain in the a** at work, where shouting instructions was a significant part of the job.

He'd told them he was getting over some sort of upper respiratory ick. Wore a mask, and all was well, except no one could hear him. If he wasn't better by that night, his supervisor had told him to stay home. So it sounded--ha--like he was staying home.

So he'd powered up to see if he could ruin someone else's day. He was feeling grouchy, and he was fully prepared to make it everyone else's problem.

Danube looked toward the direction of the new signature when she felt it flare onto her awareness. It was another Order signature, and that was a good thing to sense. That meant that, already, the two of them outnumbered the Chaos signature. She bounced on the balls of her feet, but opted not to go anywhere. It felt like the other good signature was headed her way, and she didn't want to lead them on a wild goose chase. Group safety 101, and all that.

At the same time, she was trying not to lose the Chaos signature. Fortunately, it didn't seem like whoever it was was keen on leaving the area. That meant they were either foolhardy or had backup waiting in the wings. She wasn't sure she liked either option. Foolhardy meant innocents would get hurt. Backup waiting in the wings meant she'd get hurt. Luckily, she was fast enough, and she intended to run at the first sign of an ambush.

...But what was that Chaos signature doing...? If only she could put eyes on them--

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That Chaos signature was luring people into the alleyway, was what he was doing. This time of day, there were enough people around to keep it worthwhile but not too many to keep it covert. As the third person slumped down and he pocketed their starseed, he figured that was enough people for this location. He was risking the next person seeing the bodies before he was able to put his hands on them to keep them quiet.

For a moment, he looked down at the glittering souls he held in his hand. He had heard that bad things happened if he were to eat one, and that seemed to track, but really? Just one? Two of the starseeds went back in his pocket, and he held the third between his forefinger and thumb, turning it over and over. Surely just one starseed wouldn't--

Why were there two Order signatures, now? Damned rats always running in packs--

Pocketing the third starseed, Tincalconite poked his head out of the alleyway. He still had his coat on, so he had some modicum of disguise on. If he could just slip away into the crowd, he could still work while using the civilians as cover. It would probably drive the other two crazy, being able to sense but not find him. He'd refined his technique since running into whatshername, the kid with the pumpkin bucket. Looking left and right, Tincalconite left the alleyway and joined the flow of foot traffic, heading for an intersection.

When he got there, true to form, he gently rested his hand on the small of the back of the person just in front of him. As they all waited for the light to turn so they could cross, he used his body to hide the fact that he was drawing a small bead of energy from them.